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Your opinions: Letters to the editor for Aug. 11

Lebanon Daily News

Updated:
08/16/2014 06:03:36 PM EDT

Vote with dollars to see real change

Editor:

Recently, the drinking water of 400,000 Toledo residents was fouled by animal waste. With unfettered growth of animal agriculture and ineffective discharge regulations, it will happen again in our own state.

The problem has become pervasive. Waste from chicken farms has rendered ocean off the East Coast unfit for fishing. Waste from Midwest cattle ranches carried by Mississippi River has created a permanent "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico larger than that from the infamous 2010 BP oil spill

Manure and fertilizers promote growth of toxic algae that poison drinking water supplies. Organic matter feeds microorganisms that deplete oxygen and kill fish. Effective regulations to limit dumping of animal waste into water supplies have been blocked by the meat industry.

Fortunately, every one of us has the power to stop this outrage three times a day by saying no to polluting meat and dairy products. Our local supermarket offers ample alternatives. Entering "live vegan" in a search engine provides useful recipes and transition tips.

Larry Deitrich, Lebanon

Battling to save retirees' finances

Editor:

Aug. 14 marks the 79th anniversary of the signing into law of the Social Security Act by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For retired Americans over 65, Social Security is the main source of income, however, increasingly that is not sufficient.

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While millions of retirees choose to work for a single employer in exchange for guaranteed pensions and benefits, the companies they worked for have been abandoning their fiduciary responsibilities in favor of pension stripping — selling off or transfering pension plans to investment funds or insurers, converting them into annuities with little or protections.

Our government took action almost 80 years ago to ensure seniors would have security in retirement. Today, leaders must reassure seniors that they will not be pension stripping victims.

The nonprofit ProtectSeniors.Org, which I am a part of, is leading a legislative effort in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures to ensure pension and annuity protections.

Jackson Will, Lebanon

Answers to ills lie in another direction

Editor:

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a bill, passed by the House, that would increase the mandatory minimum penalty for a DUI homicide by vehicle from three to five years and include a lifetime driving suspension.

I grieve for families of those killed by drunk drivers. Their pain will last a lifetime.

Tough laws resulting in bulging prisons after rounding drunks enslaved to alcohol — more taxes, programs, jails, family breakdowns and government control.

Does its cause not reflect the seeds of impiety by those elected leaders who have groomed the path to enslavement? One function of good government is to create an ethical environment by proper example. What do we do?

Bring on gambling establishments, redefine marriage, promote abortion-on-demand and potential legislation that will place booze into practically every retailer in town. These immoral laws affect the family, swell prisons and raise the poverty level. Leaders who promote evil by treading on the life changing principles of the Word of God are guilty of blasphemy in the highest degree.